I would knock on doors offering to mow lawns if $150 was going to stop me from getting this upgrade. The development on this version is quite impressive IMHO. Some major and not so easy to implement enhancements were added, that were direct consistent requests from the community, at least 3 major ones, plus a whole lot more.

If this can give a bit of perspective - and maybe the model will be adopted by others in the future, anyway...
 
For us Logic users, there isn't such a thing as an upgrade anymore. Neither are there different versions tailored to different needs. It's $200 every time and for every one, no matter how long you've used Logic.
 
Personally, I'm 100% happy with that - as long as Apple do their job and keep their end of the bargain. Which means that I expect what I buy to work as advertised and bugs to be taken care of asap when they show. And they do a tremendous job I must say. Logic 9 in its 3 years of existence received 11 free updates. If an OS upgrade caused some strange behaviour, a patch was usually issued the following week or so.
 
Version 10 came out at the end of July. It was by all account a very solid release. Still, Apple managed to release 3 updates since.
 
As far as I'm concerned, $200 is more than worth it, especially when I don't have to systematically pay that every year in the hopes that the features that I paid for in the previous version will finally be working.

I have been paying for Sonar from version 4. Paid near $500 the first time, and then 5 times x $150. And every time they sale unfinished product that supposed to work but it does not. And I always hear excuses- it must be computer, it must be OS, it must be hardware- anything but admitting that it is unstable and needs work. I understand how it feels to be in bad financial situation. I understand Cakewalk needs money, but so as I. I want to be able to use the program. My music making is all boils down to fixing software all the time. We get together with the band to practice, and half of the practice I am fixing Sonar or failed plug ins or unrecognized keyboards and such. If you saying- you do not have this problem- it is because you not using all the hardware and software I am using and stability is very compromised. And with every next version they say- they fixed it, but it still not working. So I will pay for the new functionality. Not for fixing old problems that were supposed to work already and that I already paid for. Tired of paying for the same thing and at the end waiting for the new paid update to fix it.

The ony thing that really makes $150 stand out to me is that it's more than the last upgrades.  Looking at the history of SONAR 2, upgrades were always more than $99. 
 
Ironically, there are a few forum folks that've stated CW should raise their costs and provide a more professional & worthwhile product.  Given what I've seen of the X3 list, I'd say they just may have done that - regardless of whether I will personally use every new feature/enhancement.   However, as they say, the proof is in the pudding, and the pudding should be finished cooking any day now...
 
 
 
PS.. I always wondered why proof was in pudding, and not jello.   Or, you know, cake.
 

I'm going to back Krist (Rain) on this one.  If SONAR is now $150 for an upgrade, then $200 for a new customer purchase of Logic is just that more attractive.  Besides, the increase in price is most likely due to the over abundance of third-party plug-ins (notwithstanding Melodyne).
 
Kind regards,
 
Living Room Rocker

stevec
The ony thing that really makes $150 stand out to me is that it's more than the last upgrades.  Looking at the history of SONAR 2, upgrades were always more than $99. 

 
lol.  i just bought sibelius.  wound up paying 260 for it with another software purchase and a crossgrade deal.  
i get THREE MONTHS of free support, and then they offer an ANNUAL SUPPORT PLAN AT $99. http://shop.avid.com/store/category.do?category=annual-support
or PER-INCIDENT SUPPORT for 29.95 - http://shop.avid.com/store/product.do?product=306917503530288
 

Those prices are support only.  How much are their UPGRADES???  149.95.  
 

The only thing out of the ordinary about cakewalk's cost structure is that support is free. 

Lets hope the Euro prices are decent this time. 1 Euro does not = 1 USD, it never has.

Cake's explanations are a little shakey.........

Cheers,
Jerry

I will gladly pay $150 upgrade for X3 if:  Gapless audio = no dropouts.  Spanking cool GUI.  Absolutely brilliant bug fixing, and cool new technologies..   Like..  "FUTURE AWESOME AMP MODELS."  
 
"Hello!!  Who has bought the company?"  Yah!!  Invest in some really killer amp modeling.   Something that blows away all the current tech.   Also, gimme, gimme more mixing tools....
 
Hey, did I say, "Gapless Audio?"
 
 
If X3 is absolutely spanking, spanking awesome..  Than yah, it is easily worth a $150 upgrade.   That's really nothing money nowadays..    Sorry to say.  Not being snobby, but inflation.. 

joakes
Lets hope the Euro prices are decent this time. 1 Euro does not = 1 USD, it never has.

Cake's explanations are a little shakey.........

Cheers,
Jerry

Fact check..   October 26 200 euro was US$0.8252
 
Today its about $1.35 and that is still well off its 10 yr high of $1.60
 
 
Edit = As an avid market junkie, I'd just like to say that, "there is no guarantee the Euro will not crash like a drunk driver."  What is going on right now is, "really short burst of growth, because central banks flood the markets with easy money, but when these mini-bubbles burst, we roll back into months and months of contraction."   The global economy has like a, "chronic bronchitis."  It gets a little better, because of meds, but then it comes back sick again, and needs more meds...
 
 
 

joakes
Lets hope the Euro prices are decent this time. 1 Euro does not = 1 USD, it never has.

Cake's explanations are a little shakey.........

Cheers,
Jerry

+1!